Split mooring system and methods for vessels

ABSTRACT

A split mooring system may include at least two vessels in a body of water and a plurality of mooring lines. The plurality of mooring lines may be attached to the at least two vessels and configured to fix and maintain a position of the at least two vessels in the body of water relative to each other. A first vessel of the at least two vessels may be adjacent to a second vessel of the at least two vessels. The plurality of mooring lines may be attached to sides of the first vessel and the second vessel. The sides of the first vessel and the second vessel with mooring lines may face open water of the body of water.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a mooring system. Morespecifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a split mooringsystem to attach to and hold vessels near other vessels in offshoreoperations.

Description of Related Art

In oilfield operations, offshore vessels, such as platform supplyvessels (PSV), offshore barges, anchor handling vessels, constructionsupport vessels (CSV), drilling vessels, well intervention vessels, icebreaking vessels, crane vessels, cable laying vessels, seismic vessels,and firefighting vessels, are commonly used for various tasks,including, but not limited to, hydrocarbon exploration, hydrocarbondrilling and production, holding and transporting hydrocarbons, safetyplatforms, and heavy lift cranes. Before, during, and after operations,additional support and/or the use of additional equipment may bebeneficial to the success of an operation in order to stabilize thevessel. Historically, offshore vessels may use mooring systems tomaintain a position in a body of water. In conventional mooring systems,an offshore vessel is anchored in position by a mooring line.Conventional mooring systems may include various configurations such as,but not limited to, a catenary mooring system, a taut leg mooringsystem, a tension leg mooring system, a single point (buoy, tower, orturret) mooring system, or a spread mooring system.

Additionally, oilfield operations may include a vessel-to-vesseltransfer of products while the offshore vessels remain in the body ofthe water. Using a floating facility for the production of hydrocarbonor other processing plant may accelerate production schedules. However,processing plants may not have the required storage for transportationparcels to be offloaded, thus requiring the use of a storage vessel orFloating Storage Unit (“FSU”) to which other carriers can take the cargoin adequate parcel sizes. While traditional methods served theirpurpose, problems arise with the proximity between the two offshorevessels and how to maintain a safe distance between them. The use ofconventional mooring systems requires large distances between the twooffshore vessels. In a non-limiting example, for the transfer ofcryogenic materials, such as liquefied natural gas (“LNG”), the lengthof the transfer hoses may be limited to less than 30 meters, making theconventional mooring systems of two vessels challenging, time consuming,and resource intensive such that it may be un-feasible.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that arefurther described below in the detailed description. This summary is notintended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope ofthe claimed subject matter.

In one aspect, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to a splitmooring system. The split mooring system may include at least twovessels in a body of water and a plurality of mooring lines. Theplurality of mooring lines may be attached to the at least two vesselsand configured to fix and maintain a position of the at least twovessels in the body of water relative to each other. A first vessel ofthe at least two vessels may be adjacent to a second vessel of the atleast two vessels. The plurality of mooring lines may be attached tosides of the first vessel and the second vessel. The sides of the firstvessel and the second vessel with mooring lines may face open water ofthe body of water.

In another aspect, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method.The method may include placing a first vessel of the at least twovessels adjacent to a second vessel of the at least two vessels;attaching mooring lines to sides of the first vessel and the secondvessel that face open water of the body of water; fixing a position ofthe first vessel and the second vessel in the body of water with themooring lines; and maintaining the fixed position of the first vesseland the second vessel with the mooring lines.

In yet another aspect, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to asystem that may include a production vessel positioned a distance apartfrom a floating storage unit in a body of water. The system may alsoinclude a plurality of mooring lines attached to the production vesseland the floating storage, the plurality of mooring lines may beconfigured to fix and maintain a position of the production vessel andthe floating storage in the body of water relative to each other. Thesystem may further include a transfer hose attached to a first adjacentside of the production vessel and a second adjacent side of the floatingstorage, the transfer hose may be configured to transfer cryogenicmaterials from the production vessel to the floating storage. The firstadjacent side and the second adjacent side may face each other. Theplurality of mooring lines may be attached to a first opposite side ofthe production vessel and a second opposite side of the floatingstorage. The first opposite side may be opposite the first adjacent sideand the second opposite side is opposite the second adjacent side.

Other aspects and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from thefollowing description and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a split mooring system for an offshorevessel according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2B show examples of a split mooring system for use with anoffshore vessel in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described indetail with reference to the accompanying Figures. Like elements in thevarious figures may be denoted by like reference numerals forconsistency. Further, in the following detailed description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of theinvention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known features have not beendescribed in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description.

Furthermore, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatwhen describing a first element to a second element disposed thereon, itis understood that disposing may be either directly disposing the firstelement on the second element, or indirectly disposing the first elementon the second element. For example, a first element may be directlydisposed on a second element, such as by having the first element andthe second element in direct contact with each other, or a first elementmay be indirectly disposed on a second element, such as by having athird element, and/or additional elements, disposed between the firstand second elements. As used herein, the term “attached to” or “coupled”or “coupled to” or “connected” or “connected to” may indicateestablishing either a direct or indirect connection, and is not limitedto either unless expressly referenced as such. Wherever possible, likeor identical reference numerals are used in the figures to identifycommon or the same elements. The figures are not necessarily to scaleand certain features and certain views of the figures may be shownexaggerated in scale for purposes of clarification.

In one aspect, embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to splitmooring systems. In one or more embodiments, the split mooring systemmay be designed for use with vessels, in particular, offshore vessels orstructures. Further, embodiments disclosed herein are described withterms designating an offshore vessel in reference to a floating vessel,but any terms designating offshore structure (i.e., any platform orsemi-submersible) should not be deemed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. It is to be further understood that the various embodimentsdescribed herein may be used in various stages of offshore oil and gasoperations, such as rig site preparation, drilling, completion,abandonment etc., and in other environments, such as work-over rigs,fracking installation, well-testing installation, oil and gas productioninstallation, without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. The embodiments are described merely as examples of usefulapplications, which are not limited to any specific details of theembodiments herein. In other embodiments, the split mooring systems maybe designed for use in any marine environment without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

Split mooring systems, according to embodiments herein, are systems thatinclude a plurality of mooring lines for mooring at least two vesselsnear each other in a body of water. In a non-limiting example, a firstset of the plurality of mooring lines are attached to a first vessel anda second set of the plurality of mooring lines are attached to a secondvessel. In addition, spring lines may be connected between the firstvessel and the second vessel to further aid in maintaining the relativepositions of the first and second vessels. Further, fenders may beprovided on the bodies of the first and second vessels to preventcollisions between the two vessels. By splitting the plurality ofmooring lines between the first and second vessels, the need for acomplete mooring system on both vessels is eliminated such that the twovessels may be maintained in close proximity while significantlyreducing HSE risks, potentially equipment damage, unwanted downtime, andimprove vessel-to-vessel transfer. As described in the prior art such asU.S. Pat. Nos. 8,561,563 and 9,272,755, which are incorporated in theirentirety herein by reference, conventional methods require extensivemooring configurations to moor two vessels side-by-side. Suchconventional methods may be both time consuming and may also increaseHSE risks. Accordingly, one or more embodiments in the presentdisclosure may be used to overcome such challenges as well as provideadditional advantages over conventional methods of mooring two vesselsside-by-side, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artupon reading this disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2B, this disclosure describes systems andmethods of a split mooring system (“SMS”) 100 for mooring vesselsside-by-side. In some embodiments, the SMS 100 is used at an offshoresite (in a body of water) to maintain a position of two vessel beingnear each other. The SMS 100 may use a wide variety of mooring lines tostabilize the vessels in a position such that the vessels may beside-by-side to complete a vessel-to-vessel transfer of products (i.e.,moving equipment from one vessel to another vessel, transfer ofhydrocarbons or cryogenic materials, scheduled repairs, replaceequipment, etc.). One skilled in the art will appreciate how the SMS 100may be able to achieve increased performance, decreased non-productivetime (NPT), and improved equipment life and maintenance.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one or more embodiments, a system flow chart ofa SMS 100 deployed at an offshore site is shown. The SMS 100 includes aplurality of mooring lines 101 to be coupled to a vessel(s). Further, itis also understood that depending on a size, shape, and configuration ofvessels (and its usage), different sizes, numbers and/or types ofmooring lines may be used. For example, each mooring line of theplurality of mooring lines 101 may be a rope, wire, cable, chain or acombination thereof. In a non-limiting example, each mooring line of theplurality of mooring lines 101 may be made out of fibrous material,sisal, hemp, linen, cotton, steel wire, metal chain, polyethylene (e.g.,DYNEEMA and SPECTRA), polypropylene, polyester (e.g., PET, LCP,VECTRAN), nylon, aramid (e.g., TWARON, TECHNORA, and KEVLAR), acrylics(e.g., DRALON) or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, theplurality of mooring lines 101 may be split into a first set of mooringlines 102 and a second set of mooring lines 103. The first set ofmooring lines 102 may be attached to a first vessel 104 such that afirst end of the mooring lines 102 is coupled to the first vessel 104and a second end of the mooring lines 102 is anchored to maintain aposition of the first vessel 104. In addition, the second set of mooringlines 103 may be attached to a second vessel 105 such that a first endof the mooring lines 103 is coupled to the second vessel 105 and asecond end of the mooring lines 103 is anchored to maintain a positionof the second vessel 104. It is further envisioned that the first andsecond vessel may be any offshore structure. In a non-limiting example,the first vessel 104 may be a production vessel using a processing planton a floating facility and the second vessel 105 may be a storage vesselor a floating storage unit (“FSU”).

Using the SMS 100, the first vessel 104 and the second vessel 105 mayuse the plurality of mooring lines 101 to be moored in a body of watersuch that the vessels 104, 105 are proximate each other. By having thevessels 104, 105 proximate each other, vessels 104, 105 may have anadjacent side and an open side. The adjacent side of the first vessel104 may face the adjacent side of the second vessel 105. The open sideof the vessels 104, 105 may be opposite the adjacent side of the vessels104, 105. The open side of the vessels 104, 105 may be a side that facesopen water. In addition, the adjacent side of the vessels 104, 105 mayhave no mooring lines such that the plurality of mooring lines 101 areonly on the open side of the vessels 104, 105. In a non-limitingexample, the first vessel 104 and the second vessel 105 are moored adistance of less than 30 meters apart from each other, such as adistance of between 2 and 25 meters apart, or from 5 to 15 meters apart,for example. It is further envisioned that one or more transfer hosesmay be interconnected between the first vessel 104 and the second vessel105 such that a transfer of cryogenic materials (e.g., liquefied naturalgas) may occur from the first vessel 104 to the second vessel 105 orvice versa.

Still referring to FIG. 1, in one or more embodiments, one or morespring lines 106 may be connected to the first vessel 104 and the secondvessel 105. The spring lines 106 may have a first end attached the firstvessel 104 and a second end attached to the second vessel 105 such thatthe first and second vessels 104, 105 maintain a relative position witheach other. The spring lines 106 may be made out of the same materialsas the plurality of mooring lines 101. Further, the spring lines 106 maylimit a fore-and-aft movement of the first vessel 104 and the secondvessel 105 with respect to each other.

In some embodiments, the first vessel 104 and/or the second vessel 105may include one or more fenders 107 attached thereon. The fenders 107may be attached to an outer surface the vessels 104, 105 to preventcollisions between a body of the first vessel 104 and a body of thesecond vessel 105 and thereby preventing damage to the vessels 104,105.The fenders 107 may be made a rubber material.

Though not shown in FIG. 1, in one or more embodiments, one or moresensors may be included within the SMS 100. In a non-liming example, thesensors may be a microphone, ultrasonic, ultrasound, sound navigationand ranging (SONAR), radio detection and ranging (RADAR), acoustic,piezoelectric, accelerometers, temperature, pressure, weight, position,or any known sensor in the art to detect changes to the position orconditions of the vessels 104, 105 and the plurality of mooring lines101. For example, the one or more sensors are located on the vessels104, 105 and/or any mooring line of the plurality of mooring lines 101on locations where they can gather data, be able to detect anydamage/wear, and to determine a location or movement of said vessels ormooring lines. Further, global position system (“GPS”) devices may alsobe used to monitor the positions of the vessels 104, 105. In addition,one skilled in the art will appreciate how a dynamic positioning system(i.e., boat motors) may be used in conjunction with the SMS 100 to aidin maintaining the positions of the vessels 104, 105 in the body ofwater. It is further envisioned that the information regarding thepositions of the vessels 104, 105 may be accessed and run from anexisting control systems (i.e., a computer/control panel at or on one orboth of the vessels) and may include a display as well as allowingremote access to the control system.

Now referring to FIG. 2A, a perspective view of the SMS 100 deployed ina body of water 200 is illustrated in accordance with in one or moreembodiments. The first vessel 104 and the second vessel 105 are floatingwithin the body of water 200 at a buoyancy. As discussed above, thefirst vessel 104 and the second vessel 105 may be moored with theplurality of mooring lines 101 to be a distance of less than 30 metersapart from each other. Further illustrated by FIG. 2A, the first set ofmooring lines 102, used on the first vessel 104, may include mooringlines 101A at a bow 201 of the first vessel 104 and mooring lines 101Bat a stern 202 of the first vessel 104 at a side (port or starboard)opposite the second vessel 105. Additionally, the second set of mooringlines 103, used on the second vessel 105, may include mooring lines 101Cat a bow 203 of the second vessel 105 and mooring lines 101D at a stern204 of the second vessel 105 at a side (port or starboard) opposite thefirst vessel 104. It is further envisioned that the mooring lines 101A-Dhave one end connected to the vessels 104, 105 and a distal end of themooring lines 101A-D is anchored. In a non-limiting example, the mooringlines 101A-D may be coupled to an anchor point (e.g., cleat orfairleads) on a hull of the vessels 104, 105. Furthermore, while themooring lines 101A-D are shown in pairs of mooring lines, one skilled inthe art will appreciate how this is only shown for examples purposesonly and any number of mooring lines may be used. It is furtherenvisioned that while the mooring lines 101A-D are shown attached to thebow and stern of the vessels 104, 105, the mooring lines 101A-D may beattached to any portion of the vessels 104, 105.

In one or more embodiments, the spring lines 106 may include a bowspring 106A and a stern spring 106B connecting adjacent sides of thevessels 104, 105. The spring lines 106A, 106B may run diagonally forwardor aft from the first vessel 104 to the second vessel 105 at an angle tolimit said vessel's relative fore-and-aft movement. In a non-limitingexample, if one of the vessels 104, 105 tries to move astern against thestern spring 106B, the stern spring 106B will force the stern 202, 204of said vessel 104, 105 inward and the bow 201, 203 of said vessel 104,105 outward (or vice-versa in use of the bow spring 106A) to maintainthe position of the vessels 104, 105 relative to each other. It isfurther envisioned that the spring lines 106A, 106B may be attached tothe vessels 104, 105 at the bow 201, 203, at the stern 202, 204, or inthe middle of the vessels 104, 105, at midship or spring cleats. In someembodiments, the spring lines 106A, 106B may be made of the samematerials as the plurality of mooring lines 101. Furthermore, the springlines 106A, 106B may be the same spring lines as those used to dock thevessels 104, 105.

In FIG. 2B, a front view of the SMS 100 deployed in the body of water200 is illustrated in accordance with one or more embodiments. As thefirst vessel 104 and the second vessel 105 are floating within the bodyof water 200 at a buoyancy, a portion of the hull of said vessels' 104,105 may be underwater. It is further envisioned that the plurality ofmooring lines 101 may be affixed to fairleads on the portion of the hullof said vessels' 104, 105 below a surface 200A of the body of water 200.Further illustrated by FIG. 2B, each mooring line of the plurality ofmooring lines 101 may have three parts. In a non-limiting example, eachmooring line may have a top portion 205 connected to the vessels 104,105, a bottom portion 206 connect to an anchor 208 (e.g., suction pileanchor) in a seabed 200B, and a middle portion 207 connectedinter-between the top portion 205 and the bottom portion 206. In someembodiments, top portion 205 is a chain line, the middle portion 207 isa polyester line, and the bottom portion 206 is a chain line. In orderto maintain the position of the vessels 104, 105 in the body of water200, each mooring line of the plurality of mooring lines 101 is intension. In a non-limiting example, to maintain the position of thevessels 104, 105 in the body of water 200, a tension in a verticaldirection T_(v) and in a horizontal direction T_(h) at the point wherethe mooring line (101) is coupled to the vessel (104, 105) is equal andopposite to a tension in tension in a vertical direction T_(v) and in ahorizontal direction T_(h) at the point where the mooring line (101) iscoupled to the anchor (208). One skilled in the art will appreciate howhaving one end of the mooring lines (101) coupled to the vessels (104,105) a distal end of the mooring lines (101) coupled to the anchors(208), the SMS 100 may allow for the position of the vessels (104, 105)in the body of water 200 to be maintained for 20 or more years.

In one or more embodiments, the one or more fenders 107 extend from thehull of the vessels (104, 105). Additionally, the one or more fenders107 may be removable or permanently fixed to the hull of the vessels(104, 105). Further, the one or more fenders 107 may be floating fendersin the body of water 200. The one or more fenders may be used to absorbenergy berthing against the hull of the vessels (104, 105) such thatdamage to the hull of the vessels (104, 105) may be prevented. In orderto absorb energy, the one or more fenders 107 may be made from rubber,foam elastomer, plastic, or any combination thereof. It is furtherenvisioned that the one or more fenders 107 may be chosen based mostsuitable for an application that depends on many variables, includingdimensions and displacement of the vessels (104, 105), maximum allowablestand-off, berthing structure, tidal variations and other berth-specificconditions. In a non-limiting example, the one or more fenders 107 maybe a cylindrical fender, arch fender, cell fender, cone fender,pneumatic fender, submarine hydro-pneumatic fender (“SHPF”), foamelastomer fender, D-type fender, square fender, wing fender, keyholefender, tugboat fender, solid rubber fender, floating rubber fender, orany combination thereof. Furthermore, one skilled in the art willappreciate how the one or more fenders 107 may be designed to meetstandards set in the PIANC “Guidelines for the design of fendersystems,” the Japanese Industrial Standards (“JIS”), and the BritishStandard BS 6349-4: 2014.

Furthermore, methods of the present disclosure may include use of thesplit mooring system and other systems, such as in FIGS. 1-2B. Becausethe method may apply to any of the embodiments, reference numbers arenot referenced to avoid confusion of the numbering between the differentembodiments.

Initially, a first vessel and a second vessel are positioned in a bodyof water and the vessels are placed adjacent to each other. Then aplurality of mooring lines is used to fix and maintain the relativepositions of the vessels in the body of water. In a non-limitingexample, mooring lines are attached to the first vessel and the secondvessel. For example, the mooring lines may only by attached to a side ofthe first vessel and the second vessel that faces open water. Byattached the mooring lines to only the open water side, a side of thefirst vessel that faces a side of the second vessel may have no mooringlines. Further, a distal end of the mooring lines is attached to acorresponding anchor that is anchored in a seabed. Once the mooringlines have an end attached the first and second vessels and a distal endattached to corresponding anchors, the relative position of the firstand second vessel is fixed and maintained in the body of water. It isfurther envisioned that the first vessel may be positioned and moored inthe body of water first, and then the second vessel is placed adjacentto the first vessel to then be moored in said position. One skilled inthe art will appreciate how the mooring lines are split among the firstvessel and the second vessel such that each vessel does not need acomplete mooring system.

Next, a first end of one or more spring lines may be attached to thefirst vessel and a second end of the one or more spring lines may beattached to the second vessel. The one or more spring lines aid inmaintaining a position of the first and second vessels relative to eachother. Furthermore, the one or more spring lines may be angled from thefirst vessel to the second vessel to limit said vessels' fore-and-aftmovement relative to each other. It is further envisioned that one ormore fenders are provided on a hull on the first vessel and/or thesecond vessel to aid in preventing collisions between the hulls of thefirst and second vessels. Further, one skilled in the art willappreciate how, with the first vessel and the second vessel split mooredin the body of the water, the first vessel and the second vessel may bespaced and kept at distance of less than 30 meters apart from each otherin the body of the water. With the first and second vessel at thedistance of less than 30 meters apart from each other, such as adistance of between 2 and 25 meters apart, or from 5 to 15 meters apart,one or more transfer hoses may be connected from the first vessel to thesecond vessel such that materials, such as cryogenic fluids, may betransferred between the first vessel and the second vessel.

While the present disclosure has been described with respect to alimited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefitof this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments may bedevised which do not depart from the scope of the disclosure asdescribed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure should belimited only by the attached claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A split mooring system, the split mooring systemcomprising: at least two vessels in a body of water; and a plurality ofmooring lines attached to the at least two vessels and configured to fixand maintain a position of the at least two vessels in the body of waterrelative to each other, wherein a first vessel of the at least twovessels is adjacent to a second vessel of the at least two vessels,wherein the plurality of mooring lines is attached to sides of the firstvessel and the second vessel, and wherein the sides of the first vesseland the second vessel with mooring lines face open water of the body ofwater.
 2. The split mooring system of claim 1, wherein the first vesselis a production vessel, and wherein the second vessel is a storagevessel or floating storage unit.
 3. The split mooring system of claim 1,further comprising one or more spring lines having a first end attachedto the first vessel and a second end attached to the second vessel,wherein the one or more spring line are configured to maintain arelative position of the first and second vessels with each other. 4.The split mooring system of claim 1, further comprising fenders attachedto the first vessel and/or the second vessel, wherein the fenders areconfigured to prevent collisions between a body of the first vessel anda body of the second vessel.
 5. The split mooring system of claim 1,wherein each mooring line of the plurality of mooring lines comprise atleast one chain line and a polyester line.
 6. The split mooring systemof claim 5, wherein one end of the mooring line is connected to acorresponding vessel and a distal end of the mooring line is connectedto an anchor.
 7. The split mooring system of claim 6, wherein the anchoris a suction pile anchor disposed on a seabed of the body of water or abuoy on a surface of the body of water.
 8. The split mooring system ofclaim 1, wherein the first vessel and second vessel are less than 30meters apart from each other.
 9. The split mooring system of claim 8,further comprises a transfer hose attached between the first vessel andthe second vessel, wherein the transfer hose is configured to transfercryogenic materials.
 10. A method for split mooring at least two vesselsin a body of water, the method comprising: placing a first vessel of theat least two vessels adjacent to a second vessel of the at least twovessels; attaching mooring lines to sides of the first vessel and thesecond vessel that face open water of the body of water; fixing aposition of the first vessel and the second vessel in the body of waterwith the mooring lines; and maintaining the fixed position of the firstvessel and the second vessel with the mooring lines.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: attaching a first end of one or morespring lines to the first vessel; attaching a second end of the one ormore spring lines to the second vessel; and maintaining a relativeposition of the first and second vessels relative to each other with theone or more spring lines.
 12. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: providing fenders on the first vessel and/or the secondvessel; and preventing collisions, via the fenders, between a body ofthe first vessel and a body of the second vessel.
 13. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the fixing of the position of the first vessel and thesecond vessel comprises attaching a distal end of each mooring line toan anchor.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising anchoring theanchor in a seabed of the body of water.
 15. The method of claim 10,further comprising keeping the first vessel and second vessel at adistance of less than 30 meters apart from each other.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising transferring cryogenic materials betweenthe first vessel and the second vessel via a transfer hose.
 17. A systemcomprising: a production vessel positioned a distance apart from afloating storage unit in a body of water; a plurality of mooring linesattached to the production vessel and the floating storage, wherein theplurality of mooring lines is configured to fix and maintain a positionof the production vessel and the floating storage in the body of waterrelative to each other; and a transfer hose attached to a first adjacentside of the production vessel and a second adjacent side of the floatingstorage, wherein the transfer hose is configured to transfer cryogenicmaterials from the production vessel to the floating storage, whereinthe first adjacent side and the second adjacent side face each other,wherein the plurality of mooring lines is attached to a first oppositeside of the production vessel and a second opposite side of the floatingstorage, and wherein the first opposite side is opposite the firstadjacent side and the second opposite side is opposite the secondadjacent side.
 18. The system of claim 17, further comprising one ormore spring lines having a first end attached to first adjacent side ofthe production vessel and a second end attached to the second adjacentside of the floating storage, wherein the one or more spring line areconfigured to maintain a relative position of the production vessel andthe floating storage with each other.
 19. The system of claim 17,further comprising fenders attached to first adjacent side of theproduction vessel and/or the second adjacent side of the floatingstorage, wherein the fenders are configured to prevent collisionsbetween the production vessel and the floating storage.
 20. The systemof claim 17, wherein the production vessel and the floating storage arespaced apart a distance between 5 to 25 meters.